


See Beyond the Horizon

by AraSigyrn



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Sentinel!AU, kinkmeme fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraSigyrn/pseuds/AraSigyrn
Summary: Written for a kinkmeme prompt:"Nicky’s excellent vision? Joe’s talkative exuberance? They’re a Sentinel AU waiting to happen."
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 20
Kudos: 356





	See Beyond the Horizon

"Copley says the guy is nuts," Nile says gloomily. "No electronics in the whole building."

"That's not a problem," Andy says and Joe hums agreement.

"We need to hear what's happening in that meeting, though." Nile gestures at the folders stacked on the table between them. "We don't have any other leads. We have to hear what he's telling them!"

"We will," Andy turns to look at Nicky. "Right?"

"Right, boss," Nicky ducks his head. Joe rubs a hand along his thigh.

They're not usually so touchy-feely but Nile doesn't think Nicky's been more than a couple of feet from Joe since they made it into the city. She's thinking it must be some sort of anniversary because Joe's...well, Joe's hovering.

There's no other word for it. He cooked breakfast this morning while Nicky sat at the table and stared into space instead of gently heckling Joe out of his way so he could cook. Nicky hadn't even commented when Joe burnt the eggs. Joe'd followed Nicky into the shower when Nicky's shower stretched past the usual five minutes. Nicky's been quiet. Distracted. Joe keeps talking to him every time Nicky goes quiet. That's not typical either. Nile doesn't know what he's saying anymore. Joe stopped using Arabic two days ago. They even slept funny last night; Joe on his back with Nicky's head pillowed on his chest and Joe's fingers in his hair.

"We don't need admissible evidence," Andy says when the silence draws out a little too long.

"We're not going to be able to get into the house either!" Nile argues.

"We don't need to," Andy says. She's still looking at Nicky who hasn't looked up. Joe leans in and Nicky jolts a little, blinking rapidly. Andy reaches out but she pauses, hand just short of actually touching Nicky until he looks up. He nods slightly and Andy strokes a hand through his hair. It's oddly gentle.

Nile watches all this but she doesn't say anything. Not yet. There's something here she's missing. She's not stupid. She's curious but mostly, Nile wants Nicky to stop being so withdrawn. He's always quiet but usually it's warm. Nile's mom was the same way; never pushing you to talk but always happy to listen. Nile's not used to Nicky not seeing her when he looks at her.

Andy's not hovering as much as Joe but Nile's pretty sure that's because Joe is taking up all the space around Nicky right now. She keeps looking around at Nicky like he might disappear if she doesn't keep an eye on him. It's almost laughable; Nicky's the most reliable one. Joe gets distracted, talking to the people who get drawn in by his charm. Andy does what Andy thinks is best and Nile's long since given up on understanding what sort of logic comes from six thousand years of warfare. Nicky's the one who remembers that you said three o'clock and who brings you a coffee because he was passing a café.

"We have some time, eh boss?" Joe says too-brightly.

"Meeting's at nine," Andy confirms.

"There's a park near here," Joe says to Nicky who blinks slowly at him. "Then we can rest back at the apartment."

Nicky shivers slightly and Joe looks up at Andy for a second. Nile gathers up the folders, keeping an eye on him. He doesn't feel entirely ...present.

"We'll grab the supplies," Andy tugs Nicky's hair super-gently. "We'll go as soon as we have the info."

Joe smiles gratefully at her before he turns his attention back to Nicky, murmuring in whatever language that is. Andy catches Nile's eye and nods towards the door. Nile goes, taking one last look over her shoulder, even as she shoulders the bag with all their intel. Andy follows her out and leads the way down the stairs.

"What language is that anyway?" Nile asks.

"Does it count as a language if there are only two speakers?" Andy asks right back. Her smile is fond.

"Bullshit you can't speak it," Nile snorts.

"I don't," Andy says. "It took us decades to find them. They already had their own language."

"You had like a thousand years to learn it," Nile argues.

"I never did," Andy slants her an amused look. "It's theirs. It doesn't make sense unless you're Joe or Nicky. I never needed to speak it. We developed our own languages."

Nile glares at her and Andy smiles.

"It's a mix of the languages of the day," she concedes as they go out onto the streets. "Ligurian, Occitian, Arabic, Greek and some Latin."

"Huh," Nile thinks about that for a block or so. "So, what's up with Nicky?"

"He's not sleeping," Andy says. "We'll get the info and get out of here and he'll be fine."

Nile wants to push but Andy's clearly done talking about this. Nile's learning to pick her battles. Andy doesn't want to talk about this and all Nile will achieve by pushing is both of them in a bad mood. She's got time. She can wait. It's clearly not an immediate problem so she's gonna wait.

Joe and Nicky aren't in the apartment when they get back from shopping but they show up just as Andy's loading the car. Nicky's wearing the long-sleeved hoodie under his vest with his hood drawn up and he does smile at Nile without ever really focusing on her. Joe is standing right there and he keeps a hand on Nicky the whole time. His smile is strained. They take the back seat. When Nile looks over her shoulder, Nicky's head is bowed with his eyes closed. Joe's checking the weapons that they're bringing, knee pressed into Nicky's. Nicky doesn't look up the whole way to their target.

He gets out of the car and falls in behind Joe as Andy leads them up a small hill. The golf course overlooks the house where the target's waiting for his business partners. Nile can see the target, sitting at a dinner table with a single lightbulb shining overhead, through her binoculars.

"Brighter than I'd like," Joe murmurs. "Close your eyes, my love."

Andy looks at him and Nile catches a fleeting gleam of teeth as Joe smiles like she's asking who took the last of the coffee while he's got the mug in his hand. "We can't take all night."

"We won't," Joe says calmly and hunkers down beside Nicky who has his eyes closed and is breathing slow and steady. "There's a tree by the window, hayati. It's bare but the wind is making it creak."

Nile stares over at Andy who is hunkered down on Joe's other side. Andy puts her finger to her lips. Nile crouches there, listening to Joe talk softly to Nicky about the tree and the room.

"Buzzing..." Nicky breathes.

"The bulb," Joe says. "You have it, my heart."

Nicky hums, tilting his head. Joe goes quiet and Andy takes a look through her binoculars.

"Four," Nicky says softly. "And the man who is sitting."

Nile looks through her own binoculars just in time to see four men come through the door. She looks back at Nicky who still has his head down, eyes closed.

"Hungarian," Nicky says next and he starts talking rapidly in Hungarian. The cadence is off; it sounds like he's repeating someone else's words. Joe has pulled a notebook out of one of his pockets and is scribbling away. He doesn't look at the page. He keeps his eyes on Nicky who is tilting his head and frowning. The words sound angry now though Nicky never raises his voice.

Joe scribbles a couple of very emphatic words before he glances left at Andy who nods. Nicky stutters and they both snap around to look at him. Nicky paws at his nose with his sleeve. "I smell...oil and-and powder..?"

Nile sees Joe's eyes go wide and he drops his notebook to reach for Nicky. Two gunshots ring out and Nile ducks. There's a few seconds of panic before she realizes the shots weren't meant for them. She gets her binoculars to her eyes in time to see the target being tackled by two of his guests. There's one man pushing chairs out of the way. She can't see the fourth guest but she doesn't need to.

She turns back to find Nicky in Joe's arms, Joe wrapped around him like an octopus. Nicky's making this awful high-pitched sound that Nile can barely hear. Joe has one hand over his ear and he's talking in a low, insistent tone.

"Let go," he urges. "Come back. Listen to me. Only to me, my love. I am a jealous man. Hear me, beloved. Only me."

It can't be more than a minute, that takes forever, but Nicky's hand comes up to clutch at Joe's arm. Joe relaxes immediately, the hand over Nicky's ear lifting to stroke through his hair. Nicky slurs something that might be Italian and Joe presses a kiss to his head.

"Take your time," he says. "Focus on me, habibi."

Nicky looks like shit but he manages to struggle loose enough to kiss Joe. Andy must have been waiting for that because she tucks Joe's notebook into her jacket and waves them back towards the treeline. Nile falls in behind Joe who is half-supporting Nicky. Nicky seems to be struggling to stay on his feet. Joe keeps an arm around him, whispering in his ear and Nicky staggers valiantly onwards.

Nile gets the back door for them, not surprised when Joe pulls Nicky into his lap. Nicky's face is still creased with pain and he burrows closer to Joe when Nile closes the door. Nile gets into the passenger seat, looking back at the two men until Andy's door closes and the interior light goes dark. She looks over at Andy who is watching them in the rearview mirror even as she floors it. Andy catches Nile's expression and her teeth flash in a brief smile.

"What the fuck?" Nile hisses.

"Nicky Panoptes," Andy says fondly. "It was rare even back in my day. I don't think your time even has a word for it."

"Sentinel, boss," Joe calls from the back seat.

"E guida," Nicky rasps and Nile sees the besotted smile Joe turns on him. "Sentinel and Guide. Insieme."

"Always together, my heart," Joe murmurs and bends to kiss him.

Nile looks at Andy expectantly. Andy rolls her eyes. "It's rare, like I said. Dates back to when humanity wasn't exactly top of the food-chain-"

The explanation sounds like something out of a movie. Nile doesn't know why she's surprised. "So, when you say 'heightened senses', how high are we talking?"

"Nicky could see a fly on the pyramids of Giza while standing in Greece," Joe says proudly. Nile's, like, ninety percent sure he's exaggerating. "It was easier when the world was not so loud."

"It was only easier after we found each other," Nicky argues and Joe smiles at him. "I did not understand what I was. Even in our time, it was something from legends. There were stories of Saint Barbara and Saint Sebastian being able to see farther than mortal men but I heard many stories about the miracles of saints. I did not think to see myself in those stories."

"I knew some stories," Joe nods. "Old stories, like those of Jinn and spirits in the desert. Some of my mother's kin still lived in the desert and they told stories of great warriors who could find hidden springs in the throes of a sandstorm. The story of Gilgamesh, who tamed the wild-man Enkidu and brought him into the tribe of Man that all might prosper and be stronger was one of my father's favourite stories."

"Have you ever met ...others?" Nile asks.

"Other Sentinels?" Nicky's smile is pained. "Maybe half a dozen in all our years. The last was in the nineties, I think?"

"America," Joe nods. "The West Coast, I believe. Not Seattle, it wasn't that far north."

"Waterfall, I think?"

"Cascade?" Nile suggests. Her brother'd been a Jags fan since he was old enough to use the remote. She swallows the pang of loss that the thought brings with it.

"Yes!" Joe snaps his fingers. "That was the one. We did not meet that Sentinel but their Guide wrote about them. Very foolish of him and I would not trust a man with such poor judgement with Nicky."

"His writing was very insightful," Nicky argues. 

"He betrayed his Sentinel for his own gain!" It sounds like an old argument, Nile thinks and the two of them bicker quietly in a mix of languages without either of them getting too heated. She glances at Andy who rolls her eyes expressively and Nile relaxes.

"I knew one or two from before," Andy volunteers. "We don't come across them too often. A Sentinel is the protector of their people so if a group of people have a Sentinel? They don't generally need our kind of help."

"Makes sense," Nile nods. "What about Guides?"

Joe makes a grumbly sort of sound and tightens his grip on Nicky who lifts his head enough to murmur to him. Andy's staring at the empty road in front of them. Nile looks back and forth between them. Joe sighs.

"Guides are more common, not that they know it."

"Okay, you're going to have to explain that." Nile says.

"Guides are more social," Joe says, brows furrowed in thought. He's clearly working to put his meaning into English; Nile's gotten familiar with that expression. 

"They are charming," Nicky says, half-smiling. "They light up a room and draw people to them as a flower in bloom will call bees. The Guide makes the tribe strong from within. The Sentinel guards against threats from without."

Joe pulls a face. "The two are not separate, my love. It needs both."

"I think it's down to breeding," Andy says which makes them all choke. Andy's razor-edged smirk makes Nile shake her head. She did that on purpose. "Sentinels like Nicky aren't particularly comfortable with people ...touching them."

"Some people are OK," Nicky protests and Nile twists around in her seat to stare at him. Nicky gives the best hugs but he doesn't touch anyone outside their family unless he has to. Nicky pouts at them both. "I just prefer Joe. Why settle for anything less than perfection?"

Joe beams down at him and Nile averts her eyes as he bends to kiss Nicky again.

"Guides are good with people," Andy shrugs. "They tend to get around. Sow their oats, so to speak."

Nile looks at Joe. Joe glares at the back of Andy's seat. Andy cackles. Joe bumps his forehead against Nicky's, muttering darkly. Nicky smiles at him. His eyes are half-closed and the shaking from earlier seems to have mostly settled. He looks like he's about to fall asleep.

"Not following," Nile says.

"There are Guides everywhere," Andy says. "Even today. They just don't know that they're Guides because there aren't any Sentinels to activate their gifts. They're still out there."

"I feel sorry for them," Joe says. Nile looks around to see he's tugged Nicky closer, chin on his head. "They do not even know the emptiness that dwells inside them. The more fortunate find a greater purpose in their communities. The others seek to fill the emptiness within by controlling those around them."

"Them, we do have experience with," Andy says grimly.

"A Guide who has lost their connection to their people is a terrible thing," Joe looks very serious. "They will twist those around them in an attempt to fill the emptiness at their core."

"Having abilities is no assurance that one deserves them," Nicky says softly. "It is chance, you see? Genetics, like Andy says."

"Lucky Joe met you then," Nile says flippantly.

"Lucky me," Nicky corrects. "I thought I was cursed before we met. The war was hell and surely I was damned by it." 

"I was blessed to find the other half of my soul," Joe says, leaning his head against Nicky's. "I knew it from the first time I beheld you, a star amid the ruin of the battle."

"And then you stabbed me," Nicky huffs. "Three times."

"I was not prepared!" Joe protests. "I did not expect to find such a jewel amid the savage hordes of my enemies!"

Nicky tilts his smile towards Nile. "He thought I was a demon for the first month."

"I did not believe my luck," Joe insists. "In the face of the horrors we had seen, it seemed so much more likely that you were sent to tempt me! I was a blind man thrust into the light of full noon! I was dazzled by you."

Nicky's faint smile twists into a grimace and Joe immediately presses a hand over his ear, cradling Nicky's head against his chest. "Listen to me, my love. Only to me."

Nile doesn't understand until Andy turns the corner and she hears another car screeching along the road. The exhaust is rattling along the road underneath and the music blaring through the windows makes Nile wince. She remembers Nicky a second too late but when she turns, Joe has his head bent and he is talking softly. His hand cradles Nicky's jaw instead of covering his ear this time.

"We have what we need from this man, hayati," he says. "When this job is done, we will go to Malta. I will paint you in oils and you will cook for us in the kitchen that overlooks the sea. We will sleep through the morning and I will keep you in my arms until we absolutely must have breakfast."

Joe's fallen into a soothing sing-song and Nicky's eyes close as he tucks his face against Joe's throat. Joe bends his head, hand rubbing along Nicky's arm and hums soothingly. Nile sits back in her seat, eyes forward and feeling her cheeks heat. They're both fully dressed, hands above the waist but she still feels like a voyeur. Andy snorts from the driver's seat.

"You get used to it," Andy promises. "Eventually."


End file.
